Tag Archives: Lighting

In order to grow in an outside plot, it is crucial to have a secure area in a forest or woods, which will allow for substantial sunlight. Getting a minimum of 2-4 hours of sunlight will create more buds. In terms of security, it doesn’t have to be overly extreme, as the plants tend to blend in with others, however keep in mind the possibility of children finding it by mistake if it is too close to a trail.

Avoid breaking surrounding vegetation as it may allow pathways for animals to reach the crops. If there is an issue, you may consider installing cameras to know exactly what you are trying to deter.

If cameras are an option for you, consider using one with a rewind delay to avoid those in the area to hear it. Fundamentally you should position them at the entrances of the plot, and locate the flash in a different area to avoid it being traced to the camera. Placing it high up in a tree is suggested.

Watering

Avoid using large gallon buckets for pots, as it requires you to water the plants every week. This will destroy the no- path threading. It would be more beneficial to get large containers which have a grip and you are still able to transport when full of water. If it is difficult, mounting them on a wooden pole to carry it more weightlessly. In order to add to the security, paint the containers in camouflage to avoid other spotting it. In addition hide the water containers near the water source for efficiency of transport.

There is another way to water your plants without transporting containers. By purchasing ½ inch spools of tube and drip lines you can link it to a water source. In addition you will need a 6 v water pump and some rechargeable batteries. In order to stop blockages, add a weight to hold the pipe under the water. It is important to avoid under watering your plants especially if its due to avoiding another water run. The more vermiculite that is added, requires more water per gallon, about 3-3.5 gallons is ideal.

In ground or pots:

An important consideration to make is whether you will plant into the ground directly, or into pots.

The disadvantage of using pots is the limitation of root space. This may limit how much the plants will grow in the confined space. On the other hand, it may stimulate growth as the pots dry out faster and more oxygen will reach the roots.

It would be a good idea to start off by growing the plants in a pot, and to then transfer these into the ground after a few weeks. Planting them in the ground will lengthen the time between watering. If the area is too dry, and you are unable to move plots, use Rubbermaid’s above your soil. Take the Rubbermaid’s and submerge them in good soil and mix in them. Add about 2 inches of mulch to hold the moisture on the top later of the soil. Cover that with other leaves and moss to make the area blend in with the rest.

Applying this setup will provide you with more control of the plant and especially the conditions of the roots. Specifically allows the roots to be grown in super soil. Worse comes to worse you can always transport the plants by digging them up despite how big they may be. If this is done correctly then the plants may only need to be tended to once a month.

Composting outdoors:

Try building outdoor compost for plots, and cover them with the vegetation and moss. This will provide some rich soil during fall/ spring. When it comes to composing, you should have about 50/50 when it comes to mixes of different plants, to balance nutrients. Diameters 3x3x3 is suggested as it will speed up the process by keeping up the heat. In order to regulate the ratio’s you should alternate the green and brown layers. To maintain these, turn the pile as often as possible, and keep it moist through watering it monthly. You will be able to sift the material using 2×6 nailed in a ½ inch spacing steel screen, which is fastened to the bottom.

Grow methods

Growing outdoors will increase yields. If you even out the growth across the plant this will even out the light distribution. Having mid sized plants instead of one main or smaller lowers, this will decrease mold growth on the plants. An important consideration is the level of growth hormone, specifically auxin. By making the auxins higher in the plant, it will grow more rapidly.

Side-way growth:

When the plant grows to about 4 inches, transplanting it north at a 45-degree angle will decrease the risk of breaking the stem. Tie half a dozen of the largest branches to grow out and fill in the sides.

SOG:

Place your indicia plants about 3-4 feet apart and grow your bud. You may either use it to do a short veg to increase safety. You have the choice to only grow 3 inch plants about 2 feet apart or grow 6 inch plants. The same can be applied with sativa strains but visually it will differ.

Training:

It is possible to train your plants when they reach about 3 inches. you can step it down to a 90* angle then tie each branch to grow outwards to avoid over crowding all upwards.

ScrOG:

ScrOG is equally as intense as indoor growth, but it has advantages in yield/ area. Use large screens 4X6 inches with thick wires, versus the chicken wire, which has small holes. This is because you have easier access to train the plant. In addition when it gets taller, it is harder to get back under the screen and there is always the risk of snapping the shoot. Rubbermaid’s would help as you can make a modular setup and allow for a 90-degree angle and allowing more effective use of sun. You will benefit if you use the screen up at an angle, as the buds will be longer. This is an easy method to train your plants, as you don’t play with individual strings.

This step is very important in the final stages of production. You will need to find a closet and have it set at 50% humidity you will then hang the buds upside down by string and let them dry out for 3-4 days. You want your bud to be a little crisp on the outside and nice and wet on the inside. You will then need a mason jar to store the nugs in while this method will help extract any unwanted moisture on the buds. Make sure to open the Mason jar at least 3 times a day because leaving moisture trapped in the Mason jar for long periods of time can lead to potential mold on the nug. After about a week of this technique the buds should be cured.

Depending on the strain you can be waiting up to 45-75 days for the strain to bud if you have a microscope you can analyze the nug and if you notice in the tricheomes crystals on the strain it will show you a mushroom like structure thus indicating a cloudy white and purple is the perfect nug.

Once you cut the plants you want to single out individual branches. It makes it a lot easier to handle from here you hang the plant upside down and start to cut off the larger leaves to the plant. Make sure to keep those leaves as they can be used for hashish and is a very useful part of the plant.

Clones are the exact genetics as their mother. The idea is to keep about 8-10 mother plants and have them grow to about 4 feet. Large enough so I can clip 50 or so clones from each mother. The mother’s wont bud because we keep them in the grow room. (18 Hours of light)

To make a clone you will need a cloning solution, these have nutrients and hormones that help clone the root. You then want to take a clean razor blade and cut the shoots off the plant at a 45-degree angle in between the nodes. You want the clones to be about 4-5 inches tall. The node is where the plant branches out from the main shoots. After you make your cuttings to the clone’s you will then have to apply the root cloning solution as soon as possible because if you give to much time an air bubble could form and slow down the whole grow process. After the initial cuts are made to the clones dip the end into the root solution and transfer them to 1-inch rock wool cube. You want to push it in enough so it is firm and wont easily fallout. But make sure not to put it all the way through the rock wool.

You want to mist your clones with pure water daily around 2-3 times through out the day for about 10 to 14 days. After 2 weeks you will begin to notice roots, you want to keep them under fluorescent tubes at 24 hours of light to maximize growth. For the first 4-5 days I keep the clones about 4-5 inches away from the bulbs. After 5 days I will place them 1 inch away from the bulbs till I start to see the roots come in. Once you start to see roots its time to transplant them into dirt cups or into your airoponics system. The next step will be to put these clones under HID light and watch them flourish.

Some brands of cloning solutions to use are “Woods” and “Clonex”

So after about two weeks when you start to see substantial growth in the roots it will be time to transport the plants into larger gallon pots and put them under Metal Halide lighting for fast strong growth. When transporting into gallon pots you want to aim to get them in 5-gallon pots of possible. So after about a month you will take your plants and change it to a 12 hour light 12 hour pitch black cycle.

Obviously odor is a factor when growing Marijuana it does not matter how much you grow of the plant it will smell the way it does no matter what. The only problem with the smell is that it can alert neighbors or who ever you may be living near because it is a distinct smell and someone might be bored enough to report this smell and you don’t want to have to deal with any of that drama.

So to be safe there are some easy options like air fresheners that are easily used and can help but your best bet is to keep your where you are growing tightly sealed so that the smell cannot escape.

There are also more expensive options like a charcoal canister which will cost you around 600$ but works well with eliminating the odors.

With Marijuana plants there are different sex’s male and female. The female plant is the one that grows bud. The male plant produces pollen and literally no THC compared to the female.

You will basically plant your seeds and grow your plant as females, from that you will be able to create clones from cutting your new plant and providing the stem with a clone replicator, which will produce roots to the stem, which is cut from the female plant. After the clone grows roots, it should take about 1 week to 10 days. When they grow to the size you like you should now move them into soil pots and mark these as cloned females and then set them aside in the budding section of your harvest. Make sure you label them because you don’t want to mix them in with the parents.

The female flower looks a lot like a teardrop with 2-3 hairs coming from the top of the plant.

The male flower looks like a micro sized bunch of grapes. These cylindrical spheres contain pollen and when ready these male flowers will release their pollen, which will impregnate the female. This is not good because this will now make the female create seeds, which prevents the female from optimizing bud growth. Unless of course you want seeds then have them in the same room. But if you are trying to grow proficient nug you will want to kill the male plants because the pollen they produce have the ability to find a female over 2 miles away so make sure they are taken care of as soon as you know.

Wherever you decide to set up your grow it will need to have good ventilation. The lighting will need to have an exhaust duct to help keep them cool so they don’t overheat. Oscillating fans that can be set up to blow airflow through the plants are also a good thing to have. It will keep them breathing fresh air and makes the stems strong so they can hold the enormous buds that you are going to grow.

Marijuana plants thrive in warm temperatures and are best suited in around 75*-85* F. Basically that means at night when the lights are off it should be about 75*F
And when the plants are under the lights it should be about 85*F. You definitely cannot allow it to drop under 60* and no more than 90* as it will promote slow growth and potentially kill your crop.

A Marijuana plant grows during the warmer summer months when the sky is out for longer periods throughout the day. The buds will start to show at the end of summer months as fall is coming round the corner. As winter get closer the female plant will begin to produce seeds so when it begins to freeze over and die it will have life for the next year coming round. Remember that different strands tend to flower at different times during the fall. So make sure you research your strand specifically.

Obviously indoor growing is altered specifically to enhance the amount of light for the plants to be harvested all year round. So plants can be under 24 hours of light to enhance the growth for the plant, which will speed up the harvest making it easier to produce more. Once the plant is ready to bud you will switch it to 12 hours of light 12 hours no light basically creating a fall/winter type of atmosphere for the plants.

Obviously water plays a large of part in any plant’s growth so the better quality the water the better quality of growth and nutrition. The reason soil based plants must NOT become waterlogged and yet hydro plants are permanently submerged in it is the water is aerated. Bubbles from a fish tank type air bubbler are released which keep the water moving and oxygenated, so the roots do not get clogged as they would in mud. The water MUST be kept moving or the plants will drown. Plants are watered both from above and underneath, the water also must be slightly heated, and again a fish tank heater is perfect.